WA lawyer jailed for $1.9 million theft

A Perth lawyer who stole almost $2 million from clients including an elderly woman and a deceased estate, to pay debts and support her husband's business, has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Helen Marie Tolson, 45, was working as a solicitor at her father's firm when she stole from three victims, with some of the funds going towards buying two new cars, the West Australian District Court heard on Tuesday.

In an attempt to cover up her offending, Tolson blamed a bank for rolling over a term deposit, then claimed bank staff had stolen the money and said it was being investigated.

The mother-of-three even created a fictitious lawyer named Claire James and pretended to be her during a phone call with a beneficiary who correctly suspected they were speaking with Tolson.

She pleaded guilty to nine counts of stealing between September 2013 and August 2017.

Judge Belinda Lonsdale accepted Tolson was ashamed and remorseful, and her husband had been unaware of the crimes.

She noted restitution had been made by Tolson, along with a contribution from her father.